As Three, As One
by ItsWhatIWrite
Summary: The morning following the finale. Matt, Gabby and Louie's first day together as a family. Just a cute little one-shot.


_Sooo...I suck at updating my stories and I feel horrible about it. But! I have this one-shot for you! I actually started this minutes after I watched the finale, wrote half of it and then forgot about it. But...here it is! As always, thanks Em for letting me bounce some different ideas off of you and making sure all my grammar is on point. :)_

 **As Three, As One**

"You know this place isn't very practical, right?" Matt asked as he discarded his wrench on the floor next to him and pushed himself up from underneath the kitchen sink. It wasn't really a question as much as it was a statement. From the looks of it, all of the hardware and pipes were extremely outdated.

"I know," Gabby replied, not looking up from the banana she was cutting into pieces for Louie.

Matt watched as Gabby placed the knife out of Louie's reach and scooped up the pieces of banana, placing them on a plate and sitting them in front of the toddler. So far, Louie had refused everything Gabby had offered him for breakfast. Granted, the kitchen wasn't very stocked but the necessities to feed a child were definitely scattered throughout the cabinets and refrigerator. He didn't like cereal and he'd shook his head at the oatmeal Gabby had made for him but he had attempted to reach for the package of cookies that Gabby had placed on the counter when she got the box of cereal down.

Though Matt didn't voice it, from the negative way Louie was acting towards the food Gabby kept attempting to give him, his previous foster mother had most likely kept him filled up on junk food. Matt shook his head in absolute disgust; if you can't take care of a child, why would you make the conscious decision to foster one? But yet someone like Gabby who had so much love to give, so much natural maternal instinct… was punished? It wasn't fair. He shook his head, refusing to allow his thoughts to go down that dark alley at this moment.

He cleared his throat, attempting to rid the lump of emotion that had settled there and in the process regained Gabby's attention. Though exhaustion was clearly evident in her warm brown eyes, there was a faint light that he hadn't seen in quite some time. It wasn't nearly as bright as what it used to be… but it was there. Almost like a beacon of hope that shined out over the stormy waters reassuring you that you were on your way to safety.

"Did you say something?"

Apparently he hadn't been the only one caught up in his own thoughts.

"My offer…" he began hesitantly, holding her gaze. "It still stands." His stomach dropped as he clearly saw the hesitation in her eyes and body language. "Gabby…"

Gabby was quick to interrupt Matt with an urgent shake of her head, "No… I mean yeah… I mean…" she took a deep breath and willed herself to relax. "I _do_ want Louie and I to move in with you… I want us to be a family. All three of us." She dropped her gaze to the mess on the counter in an attempt to calm her nerves. "But I have a different idea…"

"I'm all ears, Gabby," Matt insisted, reaching out and placing a finger under Gabby's chin and tilting her head up so she was once again looking at him. "What are you thinking?"

Gabby shrugged, "What would you think about getting a house together?"

"A house?" Matt repeated, the tone in his voice outlining his surprise.

"I mean… moving back in with you works too but I don't know… it's not a very kid friendly place. And it's just… nothing has gone right since we got that place… I feel like we need a fresh start…" she smiled down at Louie and ran her hand over his head, "with Louie."

Matt smiled, the love Gabby already had for Louie was very evident in the curl of her smile and the glimmer in her eyes. "A fresh start, huh?" He dropped his eyes to Louie, "What do you say, Louie? Do you want to start fresh with me and Gabby?" Louie grinned and stuffed a couple banana slices in his mouth. "Well, you're actually eating so that sounds like a fresh start to me."

After finishing his banana, Gabby managed to get Louie to eat a few bites of his oatmeal before he'd decided he was done and ready to play. Not wanting to push too much too soon, Gabby helped Louie down from his chair and grabbed the small box of toys by the door that Cindy had brought up last night. Filled with mostly cars, super hero figures and blocks, Louie's eyes got so wide as he dug through the box, you would've thought it was Christmas.

And honestly, it broke Gabby's heart.

With Louie busy playing, Gabby took a seat on the floor next to him and took inventory of the clothes Cindy had given her and the outfits that had already been in Louie's bag; both had seen better days. She quietly decided that she needed to just go out and buy Louie some new clothes. So lost in her own thoughts, she hadn't even heard her phone go off and was only pulled from her thoughts when Louie waved it in front of her face.

"Phone ring!" Louie explained before sitting the phone in Gabby's lap and going back to his toys.

"Thank you," Gabby said as she took the phone out of her lap, brushing her thumb across the screen and unlocking it. "You've got to be kidding me," Gabby mumbled under her breath in frustration as she read a text she'd just received from Otis.

Matt glanced up from the sink, "What? What's wrong?"

"Otis just sent me a text. The delivery for Molly's is a day early and the truck is currently sitting outside the bar." She sighed and ran her hands through her hair, "Herrmann and Cindy took the kids to the zoo today and Otis has a follow up appointment at the hospital so I've got to go receive the delivery."

"Well, what about Stella?" Matt asked.

Gabby shook her head, "Otis can't get ahold of her." She turned her attention to Louie as he sat, completely oblivious to his new foster mother's anxiety as he stacked his blocks.

"He can go with me to the hardware store," Matt said without hesitation. He'd just been compiling a mental list of things he needed to pick up from the hardware store when he'd heard Gabby grumbling.

"Are you sure?" Gabby asked.

Matt nodded, "Absolutely. We're doing this together, Gabby."

"I know," Gabby insisted, looking over at Louie. "But he doesn't really know you yet and I don't want to just switch it up on him already." She sat her phone down on the coffee table, "Hey, Louie?" Louie stopped what he was doing and look up at Gabby, his wide eyes meeting hers. Gabby smiled at him, "Hey buddy, what do you think about staying with Matt for a little bit?"

Louie's eyes broke away from Gabby's and wandered up to Matt's before returning to Gabby's. "You go?" he asked, the palms of his little hands turning up in a questioning manner.

Gabby nodded, "I've got to go to work for a little bit so you're going to stay with Matt, ok?"

Again, Louie's eyes wandered up to Matt's where he held his gaze for a couple of seconds before seemingly deciding it would be ok. He reached up and wrapped his hand around a couple of Matt's fingers and used his other hand to motion to the stack of blocks next to him. "Bid bocks?"

Matt had to replay Louie's words a couple of times in his head before understanding what the little boy was asking. "You want me to help you build the blocks?"

Louie grinned, "Yeah!"

Matt chuckled, "I think I can do that. But first," he leaned down, joining Gabby and Louie's level, "how about you say good-bye to Gabby, ok?"

The smile on Louie's face fell as Matt's words registered and his eyes filled with tears before he threw himself into Gabby's arms and wrapped his arms around her neck, "No go bye!" he cried in a panic.

Gabby wrapped her arms around Louie, "Oh, Sweetie…" she rubbed his back soothingly and shot Matt a displeased look. "I've got to go to work for a little bit…" she loosened her embrace around Louie and leaned back so she could see his face, "So Matt is going to play toys with you, ok?"

"Come back?" Louie asked.

"I promise, I'll come back." She kissed the tip of his nose, earning a little giggle from him in response. With a small grunt, she stood up and brought Louie with her before settling him on her hip and once again finding his eyes. "So what do you say? Are you going to be good for Matt and have lots of fun playing toys with him?"

Louie threw his hands up, "Toys!"

Gabby laughed, "Yes...toys."

Matt smiled as Louie's attention once again fell on him. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't terrified of Louie not liking him or being afraid of him. He wanted this… just as much as Gabby did but he knew that if Louie didn't like him or didn't trust him like he clearly did with Gabby, then it was just going to be a constant uphill battle.

A thought occurred to Matt, "What about his car seat?"

"It's pretty easy to transfer from one vehicle to another so I'll get it out of my car and sit it in the back seat of your truck."

Matt looked a little nervous, "Does it need to be installed or anything?"

"Just make sure you secure it in place with the seatbelt and then use the actual restraints that are in the car seat to buckle Louie up," Gabby explained. Despite her explanation, Gabby could tell Matt was still a bit hesitant, "Do you want me to show you?"

"Would you mind?"

Gabby shook her head, grinning, "Of course not." With her free hand, she poked him in the stomach, "You're cute when you're nervous."

"I'm not nervous," Matt defended.

* * *

Gabby paced the kitchen of Molly's in search of something to do as she waited for the delivery guy to bring in another load. Of course, the one day no one else was available to come in for deliveries—it was a new delivery guy. Someone who had obviously just been hired. Gabby wasn't quite sure the guy was legally old enough to even be handling alcohol. She stopped pacing and pulled her phone from her back pocket, half expecting to see a text from Matt.

She'd been a little nervous when he'd offered to take Louie with him to the hardware store. It wasn't that Gabby didn't trust Matt—she trusted him with her life _and_ Louie's. But everything was so new for Louie and she didn't want to freak him out with too much, too soon. She bit her bottom lip as she silently debated on whether or not she could call him to see how things were going.

Was this what it was like for new mothers the first time they left their newborn with someone else? "Screw it," she muttered as she swiped through her previous calls and pressed Matt's name.

Matt laughed softly, a little surprised Gabby had managed to go this long without calling and checking in on them. She definitely had the 'new mom jitters'. He put his phone to his ear as he climbed out of the driver's seat of his truck, "I gotta be honest, I had my money on the one hour mark."

Gabby rolled her eyes, "Was I that obvious?"

"Very. But hey, that's what new moms do, right? They worry." Securing his phone between his shoulder and his ear, Matt opened the back door of the truck, unbuckled Louie and lifted him out of his car seat, "Come on, big guy."

Gabby's heart melted as she listened to the soft tone of Matt's voice as he spoke to Louie. "So I take it the trip to the hardware store was a success?"

"Very. We made a stop at another store and I went ahead and bought another car seat so we don't have to worry about who has it every day."

"You're amazing," Gabby said as she motioned to the delivery guy where to sit down the load he'd just brought in.

"Oh yeah… no problem," the delivery guy answered in a bit of cocky tone. "Anything for a lady like you," he winked.

Gabby's jaw clenched and she glared at the guy, "Was that supposed to be a compliment?" She shook her head, "Nevermind...I don't want to know the rest of your thoughts. Can you please just finish?" She continued to glare at the delivery guy until he was out of sight and was pulled from her anger by Matt calling her name.

"Gabby… Gabby?"

She huffed and brought her phone back to her ear, "What'd you say?"

"What the hell was that?"

"The delivery guy is an asshole."

"What'd he say? Did he do something?"

Gabby shook her head, "No. He just thinks he's God's gift to women. It's fine." She took a breath and forced herself to relax, "So what are you and Louie doing now?"

Not sensing any fear from Gabby, he decided to drop it. "We're getting ready to walk into Mama Mia's Cafe." Matt nodded his head in thanks to the guy that held the door open for them. "And I was actually getting ready to call you because it occurred to me that I have no idea if Louie is allergic to anything or what he likes."

Gabby smiled—while Matt would probably never admit it, he was an absolute natural at parenting. "He's not allergic to anything. But from what Tina has told me, he's a picky eater." She chuckled, "Which we learned firsthand during breakfast this morning. Maybe chicken nuggets? It was always my go-to food whenever I had to babysit Diego and Eva," she shrugged, "and doesn't the kid's menu have pictures? Let him look at it, see if he points anything out."

"Ok," Matt was struggling to keep Louie from slipping out of his arms.

* * *

Wandering over to his new toolbox, Louie grabbed the toy screwdriver and ran into the kitchen, pointing to the sink, "Fix?"

Matt laughed and followed Louie into the kitchen, "How about a nap first, huh? I don't know about you but it's been a long morning."

Louie shook his head, "No!"

"No nap?" This time it was Matt's turn to shake his head, "No, I think a nap is a good idea." _A really good idea,_ Matt thought to himself. "Do you remember where you left your blanket this morning?"

Discarding the green toy screwdriver, Louie ran as fast as his little legs would go, over to Gabby's bed that still remained unmade. He reached up and pulled at the blue blanket, giggling as it slid from the bed and fell on top of him. He pulled at the comfort object until it was no longer obstructing his sight and giggled, "Blanket!"

"You found it!" Matt took Louie's hand and led him to the small bed on the other side of the apartment. "How about a nap in your big boy bed?"

Louie shook his head and pointed to Gabby's bed, "Bed!"

"That's Gabby's bed," Matt answered. He took a seat on the edge of Louie's bed, "And this is Louie's bed."

"Bed!" Louie repeated, running back over to Gabby's bed.

Matt conceded, "Ok, alright. We'll nap in Gabby's bed." Scooping the two year old up, Matt sat him on the edge of the bed and one by one took his shoes off. He observed the poor condition of Louie's shoes and made a mental note to take the little boy shopping soon. Everything had been so last minute for Gabby that most of what she had gotten for Louie were hand-me-downs from Herrmann and Cindy's youngest son, Kenny.

With her hands full of shopping bags, it was a bit of a struggle for Gabby to enter the apartment. As soon as she crossed the threshold, she dropped her bags in a pile on the floor next to the couch. It was on her way back to shut the door did she notice the bags of brand new toys sitting with a single bag from the hardware store. Her heart skipped a beat—Matt was already wrapped around Louie's little finger. Being nosey, she took a quick glance through the bags and found a little bit of everything. She couldn't help but laugh at the toy firetrucks she came across in one of the bags, "Starting him young," she whispered.

A thought occurred to her, if these bags were here then where were they? She stood up and turned around, scanning her eyes across the apartment and eventually settling her gaze on both Louie and Matt who were sound asleep on her bed.

Gabby couldn't help herself, she dug her phone from her purse and moved quietly over to the bed. Matt was sprawled out on his back and next to him was Louie. The little boy was curled into Matt's side, his stuffed monkey tucked under one arm and his blue blanket tucked under the other. She took a picture and cringed when the annoying shutter sound echoed through the apartment. When neither of her boys stirred, she turned down the volume and took at least a dozen more pictures before settling on one as the background on her phone.

As tempted as Gabby was to curl up and join them and take a much needed nap, she had so much she still needed to get done. All Louie had with him when Ms. Cantrell had dropped him off was a single duffle bag full of some clothes, his treasured blanket, pull-ups and a couple of toys. And though she was more than grateful for the basket of clothes that Cindy had given to her, Gabby wanted Louie to for once have something that was _his._ Not hand-me-downs and not clothes that had been donated; but clothes that had been bought with him in mind.

She moved back over to the pile of shopping bags she'd brought in and settled on the floor in front of the couch. She needed to get all the tags off so she could wash everything. She'd been sitting there quietly, removing tag after tag when she heard movement from the bed. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled as Matt came into view, "Hey, Babe. Hope I didn't wake you."

Matt shook his head, "No. Louie accidentally smacked me in the head. He's a wild sleeper." He chuckled as he motioned to Gabby's shopping bags, "I guess Louie and I weren't the only ones to go shopping." He settled down on floor next to Gabby and leaned up against the couch, draping an arm around her as she continued to separate the stacks of clothes. "Clothes?"

"And shoes," Gabby said pointing to the small stack of shoeboxes sitting on the coffee table in front of them.

"Great minds think alike," Matt mused.

Gabby pulled off another tag and looked over at him, "What do you mean?"

"When I took Louie's shoes off for his nap I realized they were in pretty sad condition."

"Yeah…" Gabby agreed. "I don't even think they were originally his. But…" she grinned and reached for the boxes. She opened the orange Nike box and pulled out a pair of gray and red lace ups, waving them in front of Matt, "Do these look familiar?"

Matt grinned and took the shoes from Gabby to get a closer look, "You got Louie shoes that match mine?"

"Is that ok?" Gabby asked. "I mean… I know _legally_ it's just me who is fostering Louie but—"

"Hey, hey…" Matt returned the shoes to their box and took it from Gabby's hands, sitting it to the coffee table. "I know I had my reservations about fostering Louie-"

"Matt-"

Matt shook his head, "Please, let me say this." He took a breath as he tried to mentally outline what he wanted to say and how he was feeling. They'd talked a little bit the night before but both of their attentions were focused on Louie as Gabby attempted to coax the toddler into going to sleep in his new bed. "One of the things I love most about you is your determination." He laughed nervously, "Even when we don't see eye to eye. You're the strongest woman I know, Gabby and I have no doubt that you can do this by yourself but the thing is… I don't want you to."

"I don't want to either," Gabby whispered. She turned so she was completely facing Matt and cupped his face in her hands, his own eyes were filled with tears and she shook her head. "I want to do this with you Matt but if-"

"I want this," he insisted. "I do. I want a family with you more than anything I've ever wanted in my _entire_ life. Honestly, when you first brought up the idea of fostering Louie… I got scared."

"Scared?" Gabby questioned as she searched Matt's eyes for an explanation. "Why?"

"It's a big decision," Matt admitted. "When you were pregnant… I was the happiest I'd ever been. I was _finally_ going to have the family I've always wanted. You, me and the baby. We were making plans, talking about names…" he chuckled quietly and ducked his head, embarrassed by the tears that still came after all these months. "We were discussing whether we should kick Severide out," he joked.

"Oh, Matt…" Gabby brought his head back up so she could see his face and wiped at the single tear that had fallen. "I wish you would've talked to me…"

"You didn't really give me a chance, you left before we could even finish the conversation," he replied, a little harsher than intended. He winced, seeing the look of hurt flash across Gabby's face, "Sorry-"

Gabby shook her head, "I deserve it. I haven't been exactly great at communication these past couple of weeks."

He sighed, "I think the both of us could work on our communication skills."

"Well, then that's what we'll do," Gabby began, pausing briefly to wipe at her own eyes before focusing her attention on the buttons of Matt's shirt, "We're a team, Matt. You and I… our relationship… it's all about teamwork. And I think…. I think sometimes we just forget that to succeed as a team... we need to work together."

"Come here," Matt murmured, slipping his arm around Gabby's waist and pulling her closer to him. "I love you."

"I love you too," Gabby whispered into Matt's chest.

For nearly half an hour, the couple just say there, soaking in just being in each other's arms after the ups and downs of the last couple weeks… months, really. It was when Matt noticed Gabby starting to doze off did he clear his throat and rub a hand up and down her back, pulling her from her slumber before she fell into a deep sleep. "Babe, Louie will probably be awake soon…"

Louie would probably be up any minute now and Matt knew the little boy would be absolutely devastated if he had to wait for Gabby to wake up.

Gabby hummed into Matt's chest before lifting her head up and rubbing at her eyes. Letting out a small yawn, she pressed her hands against Matt's chest and pushed herself up off of him and settled back against the couch.

"So what else did you get?" Matt asked, a tiny hint of amusement in his voice as he watched Gabby continue to wake up. Gabby stretched her arms up over her head and let out a tiny squeak before dropping her hands in her lap and looking at the shopping bags as she tried to remember what was in them.

"More shoes…" Gabby reached into one of the shopping bags and pulled out two boxes of shoes. "A pair of sandals and a pair of play shoes," she removed one of the pairs from its box and held up them up to Matt to see, clapping the bottoms together and causing them to light up. She looked sheepishly over at Matt, "They're fire trucks. Do you think it's too much? I couldn't resist."

Matt shook his head as he laughed, "Definitely not too much. You should see the bag full of firetrucks and anything firefighter related that I bought him at the toy store."

"Oh, I did," Gabby quipped. She let out a happy sigh as she returned the shoes to their box, "You know… I've been thinking about what you said this morning…"

"About the apartment?" Matt questioned, a little confused and a little worried that she was backtracking. "I thought we were going to look for a house?"

"We are. But I was hoping maybe sooner rather than later?" She waved her arm around the cramped but comfy quarters. "This place will not be able to keep up with Louie for very long. And besides…" she pressed her forehead against his, "Louie isn't the only one who needs his own bedroom."

Matt laughed and gave Gabby a quick kiss, "Well I wasn't gonna say anything…"

Gabby laughed, " _Liar._ " She shook her head, still grinning, "But if you're ok with it, I figured I'd call my realtor tomorrow?"

"I think that's a great idea," Matt said before leaning down and recapturing Gabby's lips. Slipping his arms around her waist, he pulled her into his lap before bringing his hands up and cupping her face. His hands continued to move, his fingers interlocking with her dark locks as he deepened the kiss. Gabby eagerly responded and wrapped her arms around Matt's neck, pulling herself up farther into his lap and straddling him.

A small thump sounded from the direction of Gabby's bed where Louie was sleeping and the couple jumped, Gabby nearly falling out of Matt's lap.

"Hey there, Louie!" Gabby greeted as the toddler came into view. He had his monkey in one hand and his blanket tucked under his arm, dragging it on the floor behind him. She removed herself from Matt's lap, settled next to him and opened her arms up for Louie. "Did you have a good nap?"

Despite still half asleep, Louie jumped into Gabby's lap and wrapped his little arms around her neck, pressing the side of his face against Gabby's face, "Back!"

Gabby grinned and kissed Louie's cheek before settling him in her lap so she could get a good look at him, "I am back. Did you miss me?"

Louie nodded his head, "Uh-huh."

"I missed you, too! Did you have a good time with Matt?"

Louie's smile grew and he gave another nod, "Fix!" He climbed out of Gabby's lap and ran towards the kitchen, "Fix, fix!"

Matt laughed, "Louie got his own set of tools this morning and he wants to use them to fix the sink," he explained. Using the couch, he pushed himself up off the ground and held a hand out for Gabby, helping her up and leading her towards the kitchen.


End file.
